Teeter-type material handling toy



May 2, 1950 F. H. STEVENS TEETER-TYPE MATERIAL HANDLING TOY Filed Jan.29, 1948 F ranc/s Harvey Stevens INVENTOR.

Wynne; 3%

f atented May 2 I rEETER-TYrE-MATERIAL:HANDIaiikfsTQi? V fiic t aivrfs'teyen Ha inithe fnrmn a tie lsan l' llema eri shan k ill! for I I w7 man hApplieationvJanuary 29, 1948; Serial m 5,1192

dump a t s one nt pnos teend th u p a being providedwith a, triggerwhich is hand set [and "normally holds the"mat erial handling receptacleupright, the trigger being operated when :it comes int'ofcontat with-oneofthe stops, where- H e 1 is a side eleyati nal view of a; dump eset strng teeter e. met n. fiQQQf .ance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical cross Section on U the line 2-2 ofFigure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a similar sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1,looking in th direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is an enlarged view observing the structure of Figure 1 in adirection from right to left;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale taken on thehorizontal line 5-5 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings by reference numerals and lead lines, theteeter takes the form of a horizontally elongated track structure whichis denoted, in a unitary structural sense, by the numeral 6. Itcomprises a pair of spaced parallel channel-shaped members or trackrails l and 8 connected at the left-hand ends with an upstanding spacingand reinforcing block 9. This block serves as a bumper, in a manner tobe hereinafter clarified. A similar block In is mounted between theopposite end portions of the track rails and this serves not only as abumper but is provided with .a hand grip, in the form of a knob II andthe latter is used for tilting the teeter by 911 1 1': e T T-b ets crssenie es 14 ts-wbie bilizers. w more 4 which sameness-, a 5,. to the inteediate nsof the track saiel e thevin Is i s an nsm t roller it betweentheir er} t w ob cua. here met st ihaed' f used to trundle the trackmeansgrom 'plac to p c a d hat.WQKP 'QQWI QF Z HW ma ent erv s Qnwiehthetsae means e ters- W 5 T k 1 71 nheteon naet n. s e. maize: rialhandin duz ewv hie 0 toy :1 be seen inFigu esdthia 1 h .5 com-cr sesriram w ich is of-asheetmetatz dw a e hapedti cross sectional formandeprovided depending walls 18 carryin outstanding. assemblin and guardflanges l9. :These flangesintermck ith the top flanges ion thetrackrails and ass in holding the vehicle on :said .track' flanges. will benoted, in this iconnectionthattherie an aide at 2fi1anditcarr-"flanged-wheels: 21 .andxthe enactingweeter flanges and track and guards se'rve-tc ssert-bis the par n anobvious news to satin-the vehicleisisafel-ll clamped on the track means and at the same time is permittedto roll freely back and forth by the wheel means provided. The framestructure carries uprights 22 and these serve to accommodate theV-shaped material receiving and dump receptacle 23. The ends of thelatter are pivoted as at 24 on the uprights and the pivot points have alow center of gravity, as is obvious. The lefthand end wall 25 of thereceptacle is provided with a, keeper notch 26 to accommodate a detent27 on a trigger 0r latch. The latch is pivoted on an adaptor bracket 28and has a lateral trip 29 which protrudes beyond the adjacent endportions of the vehicle frame H. The latch or trigger means is set byhand when the vehicle is at the right in Figure 1 at which time it restsagainst the abutment or bumper H]. In this position the receptacle isloaded with sand or other material to be handled and dumped. Thereceptacle is then upright. However, by catching hold of the handle Hand tilting the right-hand end of the track means up, the opposite endgoes down and the vehicle rolls by gravity down the track until the trip29 comes into releasing contact with the bumper 9. Then, with thetrigger released the receptacle 23 is permitted to tilt to either oneside 3 or the other, whereupon the load is dumped, in an obvious manner.

It is obvious that I have evolved and produced an ingenious amusementdevice or toy charac-' terized by a portable teeter-type track and awheel-equipped vehicle or dump cart mounted thereon, the simple act oftilting and inclining the track serving to cause the vehicle to rollback and forth from loading to dumping positions and to thus produceamusing results for youngsters. Many toys are educational andinformative and the instant one is particularly helpful in that itteaches the observer the principles of fulcruming mobility of the track,balance, what causes the track to tilt to one direction or the other,depending on the load, the low center of gravity of a releasablereceptacle, the principle of trigger release and other interestingfactors.

A careful consideration of the foregoingv description in conjunctionwith the invention as illustrated in the drawings will enable the readerto obtain a clear understanding and impression of the alleged featuresof merit and novelty sufiicient to clarify the construction oftheinvention as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts maybe resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made fromthe invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, claimed as new is:

what is 1. In a toy of the class described, a portable prop, a trundlingand fulcruming teetering track rigidly mounted on said prop and providedat opposite ends with upstanding ab-utments, a

wheel-supported carriage slidably mounted on said track structure andshiftable from one to the other end of the latter when it is hand tiltedto positions inclining toward or from the operator, a horizontallyswingable load receiving and dumping receptacle. hingedly andv rockably'mounted on said carriage, a trigger .pivotally mounted on said carriageand releasably engageable with the receptacle, said trigger including atrip and said trip being adapted to bump against one of said abutments,whereby it is automatically operatedto release the trigger and to permitthe receptacle, under influence of the load contained in the latter, totilt sidewise to a load dumping position.

2. A manually actuable table-type toy of the class described comprisinga pair of relatively short rigid spaced parallel legs constituting aprop, a single trundling and fulcruming roller mounted for idlingbetween the lower end portions of said legs, a hand shifted and tiltableteeter at rightangles to said prop-and embodying spaced parallel tracksdisposed at right angles to and rigidly mounted between the upper endportions of said legs, a pair of bumpers secured to opposite endportions of said teeter rising vertically therefrom, one of said bumpershaving an exteriorly disposed outstanding hand-grip, a wheel-equippedcarriage slidably keyed for shiftable movements back and forth on saidtracks, said carriage being provided with uprights, a loose materialreceiving, transporting and dumping receptacle hingedly-suspendedbetween said uprights and tiltable sidewise for purposes'of dumping aload which is placed in the receptacle, a triggerpivotally mounted onsaid carriage, said receptacle having a keeper notch and said trigger.having a detent fitting releasably into said notch to hold thereceptacle normally upright and fixed in relation to and above thecarriage, and said trigger also having a trip engageable with one ofsaid bumpers for purposes of automatically releasing the detent andallowing the receptacle to swing over to one side for dumping its load.

FRANCIS HARVEY STEVENS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS

